Vietnam Accuses Chinese Ships

By

Jeremy Page

Updated Dec. 3, 2012 10:55 a.m. ET

BEIJING—Two Chinese fishing vessels cut cables of a Vietnamese vessel doing seismic oil exploration work in the South China Sea, the state-run Vietnam Oil & Gas Group said on Monday amid mounting regional concern about new Chinese regulations that appear to authorize its police to board foreign ships around disputed islands in the area.

The Vietnamese ship, the Binh Minh 02 Ship, was conducting a seismic survey 43 miles southeast of Con Co Island off Vietnam's Quang Tri province when the Chinese vessels ran across its...